In fact, I suggest you start out cheap. The thing is, gardening is work. Youll have to spend time in feeding, mixing, transplanting, spending, nutrient math, pests and insects, over watering, pH, organic or hydro, NFT, ebb and flow, aeroponics, scrog, dwc, dodging the laws-- people get tired of it.
That being said, you can get a perfectly adequate yeild for $300-$400. If you use compact flouorescents or t5's, and if you make your own hydro table. Also, youll have to go cheap on the nutrients, and you might have to use bagseed unless you can get a good deal. Just be creative. Usually there is a cheap and effective solution to most gardening problems